For hundreds of years, the world was waiting—waiting for deliverance, waiting for peace, waiting for hope. The God of the universe promised that hope would come in the form of a Son of Man, a Savior, in whom the nations would put their hope.
The waiting ended the night Jesus was born. The hope of the world had arrived. And yet, much of the world is still waiting.
This is not the same kind of waiting that Christians experience today as we wait for Jesus to return again. Instead, billions of people are waiting because they don’t know that the Messiah came in the first place. They don’t even know that they are waiting for a Messiah.
Today, more than 3 billion people are unreached with the gospel. They have little to no access to the story of Jesus and, therefore, no reason to celebrate Christmas. This is a heartbreaking fact because the good news of great joy was not just for the nation of Israel but for all nations.
As you celebrate this Advent season, pray that all nations will also one day celebrate Christmas.
“‘I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.’” -Genesis 12:2-3
God told mankind to “‘fill the earth and subdue it (Genesis 1:28).’” But when sin entered the picture, the hearts of men became selfish and wanted to seek their own glory. Rather than cover the world and glorify God, mankind decided to come together to build “‘a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth (Genesis 11:4).’”
Before the people of Earth could finish the city and the tower, God in his sovereignty disciplined them. He confused their language and scattered the people throughout the world. Then God began to reveal His grand plan to a man named Abram. The first thing the Lord instructed Abram to do was to “‘Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you (Genesis 12:1).’”
Go? Why?
People wanted to glorify themselves, so they stayed in one place to build a city in their name. God wants His name glorified throughout the world. As God’s covenantal representative, Abram couldn’t spread the Lord’s name by staying in one place; he had to get moving.
This promise set the agenda for the rest of Abram’s life and the lives of his descendants. God was somehow going to bless all the families on Earth through this one family line. Something great was on the horizon, and it was coming in the form of a person.
To Abraham (who used to be Abram), God said, “‘… through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed … (Genesis 22:18).’”
To Abraham’s son, Isaac, God said, “‘… through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed … (Genesis 26:4).’”
To Isaac’s son, Jacob, God said, ‘“All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring (Genesis 28:14).’”
Again and again, God promised that someone was coming to bless all the nations because God’s heart has always been for the whole world to know Him.
Of course, followers of Jesus today know who God had in mind, but the sons of Abraham didn’t know who this person was. They didn’t know what His name would be or when He was coming. All they knew was that God was sending someone with a global purpose.
Centuries later, Abraham’s descendants would recognize how God was laying out the road map for all people to be blessed.
“Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: ‘All nations will be blessed through you.’ So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. … If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” -Galatians 3:8-9, 29
This devotional is included in East-West's Advent guide, “Joyful All Ye Nations.” Read more devotionals plus international recipes, daily prayers, and Scripture readings by downloading this free guide!